Welcome back to the latest installment in the Freshman Guide To NSO 2010. In this episode, we’ll teach you how to buy books, ideally without shelling out for a brand-new one you’ll open once before finals.
Before we navigate the sea of texts, we’d like to issue one word of caution: DON’T BUY YOUR BOOKS YET! Don’t buy them until you’re certain you want to be in the class. It’s okay, no one else has bought them either. And you’re not going to do the first reading. It’s Rosh Hashanah!
The hands-down easiest way to find what you need is to just use Book.ly, which compares all your options for you across several different websites. They even have a custom version for Penn students! But if you want discounts, pros and cons, and other tips, click after the jump.
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Biba To Open Next Week --
Biba, the wine bar by the folks from Tria on 30th and Walnut will soft launch in the middle of next week, according to a source. Andddd we're salivating.
Snoop Dogg Wants You to Drink Cognac Next Week - If you stocked up on NSO booze on Monday, we can almost guarantee that you went to the wrong PA Wine and Spirits Shoppe. Sure, 40th and Market is a good standby, and 48th and Baltimore has a lax carding policy - but the 12th and Chestnut location
had Snoop Dogg. He was there to promote his new Landy Cognac, which could see being a fantastic alternative to jello shots.
PMA party, YES!
Attention 2014-ers: New Student Orientation is approaching! It’s a well-known fact that Orientation weekend is second-to-none- at least during the Fall semester (sorry, Fling is totes better). Of course, with plenty of things to do, the first few days at Penn are chaotic. But not all school-sponsored events are created equal, so we’re here to tell you what’s what with the most popular NSO parties.
Thursday:
President and Provost’s Welcome and Reception (4:15pm- College Green/Wynn Commons): Skip. There are many things you can do to settle in nicely at Penn. Meet your hall-mates. Organize your room. Get lost on campus. Wait until Convocation for Amy G to tell you that you’re Penn’s most talented.
College House Meetings (9pm- All over campus): Go. Not only is this mandatory event somewhat entertaining, but this will probably be your first opportunity to get free stuff at Penn.
Read the rest of this entry »
TD Bank on 37th and Walnut (aka right in the middle of campus) was robbed today around 9 a.m. No one from Penn was present or hurt, but that’s still a bit terrifying considering it was in the middle of BROAD DAYLIGHT.
For more details, check the DP article here.
Penn alums, living the dream, yet again. This time, it doesn’t even involve hedge funds or competing on a Bravo reality show about art or anything! Rather, Vanessa Bayer ’04, is joining the cast of Saturday Night Live. Since being the Director of Bloomers, Penn’s female comedy group/Mask and Wig rival, Vanessa has spent time at Second City in Chicago, a well-known SNL feeder. Anyway, legit! We look forward to watching.
City Tap House Got Some Scary Scanners-- Fake IDs beware! Legit sources tell us that City Tap House has invested in some heavy-duty (read: not Copa-esque) scanners in preparation for the semester. Anyone can still come in for dinner before 11, but after that's when shit gets funky.
In case you were getting sick of him spitting fire spoken-word style (jk, that’s not possible), the Excelano alum/Superman has released the rap single “Don’t Let Me Go.” Produced by fellow Quaker RJ Ferguson (who also does stuff with Hoodie Allen), it just showed up on Hype Machine. So “heart” it, then download for free right here!
Don’t Let Me Go Feat. AmJay
In today’s edition of things we forgot to mention, the long awaited Apple Store at 16th and Walnut has officially been opened for business. As far as we can tell it is exactly like every other Apple Store in the world, complete with shiny electronics and guys in blue shirts. However, a source of ours noted that flirting with your “Genius Bar” helper may result in free accoutrement for your laptop. Get to it, ladies (and gentlemen, if you’re lucky).
Our friend, the Buttercream Cupcake lady, had her cupcake truck confiscated yesterday when she parked in an illegal spot on Market near 33rd Street.
She took to Twitter to protest the injustice and has since recieved a lot of media coverage. After being forced to walk home and shell out $200 she got the truck back, but says she’ll avoid our neck of the woods for a while. Wah!
We may have lost some other fourth-place contest, but we win where it really counts according to this Complex.com countdown. Smoke’s had a very respectable showing in the Top 50 College Bars in America at number four.
The site justifies the ranking with the “Dog Day” afternoon special ($1 hot dogs and $2 draughts), but um, hello? No mention of Kweder?
With the toil of fall semester looming on the horizon, it always helps to see some totally boss Penn alums have their backbreaking labor blossom into succulent fruit. For one (professor Marjorie Margolies), this meant seeing her son married off to Chelsea Clinton. For another (hedge fund guru Bryce Markus), it meant buying Lloyd Blankfein’s house. For yet one more (’04 comedian Whitney Cummings), it meant doing a routine on Comedy Central about getting spanked. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel!
Learn this, downtrodden student masses: work hard for womens rights, run for congress, be a pioneer for adoption, and maybe your son will marry someone famous, thus making you famous by proxy. Alternately, try having the connections and Penn smarts necessary to earn enough money to buy your former bosses house. If that doesn’t do it for you, poke enough fun at celebrities in public to get some bigwig at a cable channel to give you your own show. Once you’re recognized for doing something noteworthy, you’ll look back on all the sleepless nights of paper writing to say “By God, it was worth it.”
As the summer winds down and we prepare to return to the fifth best place in the universe (we’ll be back to reclaim our spot next year), we begin to remember all the fun we’ve had over the past year(s). Fall Fest. Amy’s holiday parties. Spring Fling. That time Gretchen tried to make “fetch” happen.
Taking a leaf out of Columbia’s Bwog, we think it’s in the interest of the 2014-ers to culturally and socially enlighten them by sharing our craziest NSO experiences. Got a great story? Something you wish you had known before you came to Penn? Send it in, and we’ll post the best ones before orientation!
Free Cheesesteaks At LOVE Park – This Wednesday, starting at 11am, the
Philly Homegrown team will be serving
free cheesesteaks made from local ingredients at the mayor's farmers' market on 15th & JFK. Supplies are limited, so get 'em while they're free!
While some of us were hoping it was going to be a candy, pony, and Brad Pitt store, the rapidly-developing building at 3940 Spruce Street has revealed a higher purpose. Set to open sometime in Winter 2011, the Clyde F. Barker Transplant House will be a place to “provide comfortable accommodations and convenient services in a supportive, community setting at nominal cost” for families staying at HUP for transplant operations.
We definitely think this is a good idea, but what’s up with the location? Sandwiched between a frat house and Allegro’s on a street full of drunk college kids, it’s hard to imagine getting any kind of peace and quiet. Read the rest of this entry »
